


our fingers dancing when they meet

by glownary



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Dancing, Established Friendship, Flirting, Leadership, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23647960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glownary/pseuds/glownary
Summary: Kaito wants to know more about Kokichi's talent, and there's no better way for him to learn about it than to experience it firsthand.
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 183





	our fingers dancing when they meet

Kaito tries to remember how he wound up like this, with Kokichi's hand on his waist and the other intertwined with his own. It was an innocent question, wasn't it? They had been sitting in the grass together, leaning against the back wall of the school building—enjoying the surprisingly warm evening and the lack of people in the courtyard—when the thought occurred to him. 

"How come you never really talk about your talent?" 

Kokichi had eyed him carefully, then grinned. "I don't know what you're talking about, I brag about my evil secret organization all the time," he had said.

Kaito had just rolled his eyes and clarified, "I meant talking about it seriously. I don't buy the stuff about your organization, and how it's huge and _evil,_ but some people seem to think you don't have an ultimate talent at all. I know that's not true." He scratched at the back of his head. "So then, why don't you talk about it?"

When he said that, Kokichi's expression had turned blank, mouth pressed into a harsh line. He brought a hand up to his face, knuckles pressing into his lips, thinking for a moment. Apparently coming to a decision, he dropped his fist and smiled wide. 

"Then let's talk about it right now. Would you humor me?"

Something about the gleam in his eye had told Kaito he was up to something, and maybe he should have been more suspicious—but he was too curious to find out what Kokichi was going to say. He nodded.

Standing up suddenly, Kokichi looked down at him and motioned for him to get up as well. He raised an eyebrow but got up without complaint. Kokichi kept looking at him with that mischievous glint, and he wondered whether he was making a mistake.

"Great. Now, your phone," Kokichi ordered him while he held a palm out expectantly. Kaito scoffed at that.

"No fucking way. You're just gonna run off with it."

Kokichi giggled lightly, crooning "Aw, you know me so well!" He wiped away a nonexistent tear when he stopped laughing. "But you're going to have to trust me on this. I won't steal it, this time." When Kaito just stared in disbelief, Kokichi rolled his eyes and added "Either you trust me or you never find out what I was going to say. Up to you."

Cursing under his breath, Kaito had pulled his phone out from his pocket and reluctantly placed it into Kokichi's palm. To his surprise, Kokichi didn't run off with it—and immediately unlocked it.

"How the fuck—"

"It's your birthday, Kaito. This thing's not exactly Fort Knox." Kokichi didn't look up as he interrupted, just kept messing with Kaito's phone. From the angle, Kaito couldn't tell what he was typing, but he could see that he was searching for a video on Youtube.

"Do you know how to dance?"

Kaito's forehead creased as his eyebrows drew together, the question catching him off guard. "Uh, not really? Depends what you mean, I guess."

"Cha Cha Slide doesn't count." Before Kaito could object, Kokichi added "Neither does Cotton Eye Joe."

Kaito crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I don't know how to dance."

"Perfect. Just follow my lead. Ready?" Kokichi hovered his thumb over the screen. Kaito stared at him, incredulous.

"What are we doing?" he asked.

Kokichi glanced from him to the phone and back again. "I kinda thought it was obvious."

Frustrated, Kaito shook his head. "Dancing, yeah, I got that—but why?"

Kokichi's expression became blank again, his tone firm and serious. "Trust me. If you want to learn about my talent, just go along with it."

Meeting his eyes, Kaito was silent for a moment before responding, "...Alright."

Pressing play and turning the volume up to max, Kokichi leaned down and propped the phone up against a nearby tree. Kaito hadn't been sure what to expect, but he was surprised when a soft classical waltz began to play. Kokichi stood up straight and returned to him, stepping in close and offering his left hand. Kaito accepted it with a moment's hesitance. Kokichi laced their fingers together, reaching out to place his right hand at Kaito's waist.

"Put your other hand on my shoulder," Kokichi directed him.

Now, Kaito snaps out of his thoughts and does what he's told to—reaching out to place his left hand on Kokichi's shoulder. "Good. Watch my feet for a second to see the way you have to move, and copy what I'm doing." He does, and he finds that the movement is simple enough, only requiring a few steps. A step forward, a step backward. 

"Got it," he announces. Kokichi moves closer and his heart jumps, their bodies now pressed close together. He keeps up the motions and Kaito matches his pace.

"So you want me to tell you about my talent," Kokichi says. His voice is lowered but Kaito still hears every word clearly due to their proximity.

They continue to sway to the music together as Kaito answers, "Yeah, I do. I'm pretty sure the 'supreme' part is like… an embellishment, or something, but your talent is leadership. That's an unusual one."

Kokichi steps forward and Kaito moves back, falling into the push and pull completely. "And yours isn't? You're the ultimate astronaut and you've never been to space."

"Yet," Kaito corrects. Kokichi just laughs, squeezing Kaito's hand slightly.

"Right, yet. Shouldn't you be the ultimate astronaut trainee?"

Kaito quickly opens his mouth to retort but shuts it when he realizes he doesn't have a good comeback. Instead, he shakes his head and says "Whatever, just… tell me what it means to be the ultimate leader."

"Mm," Kokichi hums. He twists slightly as they move to allow them to slowly spin around together. "Well, what does it mean to be a leader at all?"

"You're asking me?" Kaito asks, and Kokichi just keeps looking at him like he's waiting for an answer. "I guess it's like… having other people follow what you tell them to do?"

Kokichi tilts his head to one side slightly. "That's part of it. You can't lead without any followers, after all."

"If that's part of it then what's the rest?"

"The rest depends on success. What's the difference between a leader and a successful leader? Between a successful leader and an ultimate?" Kaito pauses to think for a moment, following Kokichi's motions without paying attention to them, but Kokichi keeps going before he can come up with an answer. "There's a bunch of factors like planning and communication skills, but what it really comes down to is how far you're willing to go." Kaito's nose scrunches up and Kokichi asks, "Do you know who Machiavelli is?"

The question throws him off for a moment, and he tries to think of where he's heard the name before. "Not really, but I recognize the name. That's… a philosopher?"

Kokichi grins. "Yup. 'The father of modern political philosophy.' That's what people call him." They step in time and keep turning slowly, now facing the opposite direction as when they started. "One of the things he wrote was that rulers have to be cruel to be successful. A lot of people misinterpret that as advice, you know. As if he was endorsing it and not just stating a fact—that any moderately successful ruler will be cruel, because being cruel is what rulers do."

Kaito narrowly misses stepping on Kokichi's foot. He corrects his movements before speaking, but tightens his grip on Kokichi's hand subconsciously. "That's bullshit. You don't have to be cruel to be a good leader—that just sounds like an excuse to be an asshole."

Leaning closer, Kokichi brings their faces an inch or two apart. Kaito resists the urge to flinch. "Is that an insult or a challenge?" Kokichi whispers, close to his ear. He shudders. "Don't you know how cruel I am? Do you think of me as a poor leader, or have I not properly shown you yet what these hands can do?" 

Kaito averts his eyes, head swimming. He continues to dance as his face heats up against his will.

"You haven't even noticed yet, have you?" Kokichi taunts. Kaito makes eye contact once more, gaze narrowing. "What do you think this is? What do you think I'm doing, right now?"

Kaito snorts. "Leading a dance hardly counts—"

"You didn't have to stand up, you know."

Kaito's face blanks as he thinks about that.

"You didn't have to hand me your phone, either. Or dance with me. Or allow me to lead without protest." He pushes the hand on Kaito's waist up to rest at his left shoulder blade. "I was leading you before we even started dancing. I'm pretty good at getting what I want out of people, by leading them."

Kaito struggles to form words, but manages, "And what did you want from me?"

Kokichi laughs, warm and genuine. "An excuse to touch you," he says.

Kaito is transfixed as Kokichi leans even closer. His heart pounds in his chest—so loud he can't hear the music, he realizes—when their lips are an inch apart. Then, Kokichi presses up onto his toes and tilts his head away to the side, closer to Kaito's ear. "Kaito, the song ended over a minute ago," he whispers.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Kaito stills completely. Kokichi drops his hand from Kaito's back and the other untangles from Kaito's fingers. Kaito feels the urge to chase it—to grab his hand and not let go—and he pushes the feeling down until it's… not gone, but ignorable. Reluctantly, he removes his own hand from Kokichi's shoulder.

"Well, that was fun!" Kokichi announces, clapping his hands together as he takes a step backwards. "See you later," he says, twirling on his feet to walk away. He pauses for just a few seconds to look over his shoulder. "Don't forget your phone." 

With that, Kaito is left alone. He holds his right hand up to his face, unable to stop thinking about how much he didn't want to let go. He remembers Kokichi's words— _'An excuse to touch you,'_ he had said—and he understands. 

He looks forward to the next excuse.

**Author's Note:**

> title is a lyric from "this side of paradise" by coyote theory! which is on my oumota playlist ;)


End file.
